Today it is very important to network for both social aspects as well as business. I thought I would give everyone some ideas on how to build a Social Network. This can help many people by simply just trying to make some new relationships; to helping you find your next career opportunity. And to be honest…coming from the Employment Industry – if you are not networking it is going to be difficult and take you much longer to find a new career. There are some many qualified candidates in the market that you really need to be talking with people who can hire you directly.

First it is important to start joining social networks that interest you. There are social networks that exist for every conceivable profession, hobby or interest.  It is very easy finding social networks be going to Find A Social Network.com.  You can find many networks that are populated with the same areas of interest.

You will then need to start blogging to allow people to get to know you. You can also comment on other blogs and ask them to check out your blogs. Eventually you will start having your own network to interact with regularly. I have been blogging for a year and a half about the life of an online student. Trying to get people to interact with your blogs can be challenging, but if you search for other blogs and invite people to check out your blogs it can really help in speeding up the process on building your own social network.  It is very important to create an online portfolio so people can learn more personal information about you, which will make them feel more comfortable.  There are several different social network sites like Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn. Remember when using sites like Myspace and Facebook; you need to make sure there is nothing offensive or discriminating on your profile page. If you are talking to an Executive and he/she checks out your Myspace to find some risky pictures, I do not think you will get the job.

Then lastly you need to Tweet. I mentioned in an earlier blog that I have recently found the world of Tweeting. I am still learning this area and I am still trying to find Tweet sites to visit. So if any of you know of any, please let me know.  Twitter has become incredibly large and everyone from movie stars, musical artist and many others just like you and me are Tweeting and building relationships. Well I hope this information has helped you getting started in building your own executive or personal network. Let me know how things work out and/or if you find out some new sites to check out. Until next week…  

As our lives get busier and the days seem to get shorter we tend to take less and less care of our bodies.  We begin to not eat as healthy because we’re always on the go; skipping the gym for the last three weeks because there is not enough time in the day and before you know it you are feeling run down.

It is very important to take good care of your body. As we get older our muscle start to diminish and our bones get weaker. This is a normal act of aging; however if you maintain minimal weight training and cardio along with eating healthy we can slow done the aging process.  It is important to eat foods that carry lots of antioxidants, proteins and vitamins. There is a book called South Beach Diet which talks about eating healthy and it gives some great recipes too. It is a great source and it can help anyone get on the right track.

As for exercising we can work out to help maintain good muscles and stay physically fit. All of this can be done in 15-25 minutes a day. As for cardio it is good to change it up here and there so one day you can walk briskly, another day jog or ride a bike. A mile will generally burn 100 calories which is good for maintaining good weight. Obviously is you are wanting to lose weight then you will need to burn more calories based on your age and how much weight your trying to lose. As for weight training there are many different exercises we can do right in our own home. I like Self.com because they have a program each month giving you different ideas on exercises you can do. Keep mind that you always want to switch up your workout because your muscles become used to your workout and then you will hit plateau.  Self.com always has great recipes and they share examples of different meal ideas to help you maintain a good healthy diet too.

By maintaining a healthy balance diet and spending 15-25 minutes a day you will feel better and live longer, strong and happier.  May we all live a happy beautiful life!!

Two weeks of relaxation from school work and now back to the grind. It did not even seem as if I had a two break because it went by so fast. It really makes you think about life within its self.  I have been in school now for a year and 3 semesters and I still have a ways to go.  So I spent a few hours this week trying to figure out how many classes I can take at a time and how much longer do I have in school.

The results: Keep in mind that I am working 50 hours a week, but if I can take 2 to 3 classes a week; I can finish school within the next year and a half.  I am 62 credits away from having my AS degree in Business Management with a minor in Business Administration. So if I pack on a couple extra classes per semester I can get through this much quicker and relive myself.  Yes, I know it is kind of sad knowing it took me 3.5 years to get my AS degree, but at least I have it and it will hopefully take me a little further in my career. Who knows I may not stop here; the great thing about getting my degree from Rasmussen is the credits are regionally accredited. This means I can transfer them to just about any major University and continue my education towards my bachelor degree.

So for this semester I am taking Business Ethic, Ethics and Excel. They are all pretty easy classes and should be able to breeze through the semester. Now that they have to Student mentor section in the online portal I can have assistance at my finger tips. As for Excel I am pretty good already, but need to learn the formulas better because I will need that for my Accounting II course. As for the Ethic classes; this should be pretty easy for me since I have been in the workforce for some time now dealing with it day in and day out.

Oh and I almost forgot, we also have Wimba now too. The teacher can record a lecture or assist with a project and we can hear it on our own desk top. I am still learning how to use it, but I believe we can record questions about our studies for the teacher, but I need to get a microphone on my computer first. This is going to be pretty great and really take online courses to a whole other level.

Well I look forward to a great semester and I hope to have you along the whole way to share my student experiences.   Please feel free to share your thoughts and opinions as I discuss my student life experience, current events and school.

I recently became fearful of possibly being a victim of one of the most leading causes of deaths in women. If that doesn’t ring a clue…then it’s Cancer of the Breast. Breast cancer is killing thousands of women yearly. It has been progressively getting worse since the early 90’s. I found a great site that gives more statistics on the cancerous disease which you can check out at www.cancer.org.

About a month ago I started having pain on the left side of my chest. After a few weeks of the pain not subsiding and me giving myself an examination I discovered a lump the size of a ping pong ball roughly. It really brought light to my eyes and I freaked out. Of course being new at my job and I do not have insurance; I freaked out even more. What do I do??? Well I put a call into my doctor, whom I have been seeing for over 7 years. I explained my situation to her and she immediately wanted to see me. She explained that it could be nothing, but we should not play around when it comes to this. So I made an appointment to go in and have her take a look. She felt the same lump as I did and she found a smaller one that I was not aware of. She requested that I have a mammogram and ultra sound to see what it is. Of course I am really worried about money, insurance and if they find something being classified under preexisting. Regardless I needed to find out just so I could go about my normal life, because normal it has not been since I discovered the lump myself.

Well after a recently having the test done I get a phone call from my doctor stating that the Radiologist says he didn’t see anything. However because she felt the lumps herself she wants to wait a couple of months and if things do not get better, then she will send me to a specialist. So here it cost me over $300 out of pocket to have test done and I get no results. Well, no sure answer and I say this because the Ultra Sound technician should have done a complete scan and she did not. She only checked the areas that I pointed out which means she could have been off and just over looked it. Trust me I pray that I do not have cancer, but what I am looking for is for someone to tell me why I am having the pain and what is the mass in my chest. Just some simple answers you would think.

I have to say I am not great about giving myself an examination regularly, but I do go to the doctor annually and make sure I take care of myself that way. However after this and not knowing what is normal or not; I really need to know more about myself. Normally breast cancer does not cause pain which is why many women go without detecting it until it’s too late. Once a year just isn’t enough either so I will do it regularly for my own health sake.

As I sat at the radiologist office waiting, I was listening to many women in the room telling their stories about having breast cancer. Some more than once and some stating the mammogram never detected it. That scares me and really makes me think….why is doctors utilizing a machine that is insufficient. Having a cancer that affects some many women and they can not come up with something better? The Ultra Sound is supposed to pick up what the mammogram does not, but that is not always the case and they do not always do the mammogram.

I truly feel for women around the world and have been donating to the cause for years. Let’s continue our support and efforts to find a cure and help save more lives. Do you have a story or know of anyone who has had to face Breast Cancer? I would love to hear your stories…

Click to Give – Breast Cancer Foundation

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=2